Guidelines to Reduce Prejudice and Promote Tolerance through Education

UNESCO and the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) will launch new guidelines on Preventing Anti-Semitism through Education, Guidelines for Policy Makers on 4 June, at UNESCO Headquarters (11 a.m.-1 p.m., Room XI).

The publication is designed to serve political leaders, teachers and young people with concrete ways to combat anti-Semitism. It also provides education systems with tools to strengthen young people's resilience to anti-Semitic ideas, violent extremism and all forms of discrimination.

The guidelines notably explore ways of sensitizing educators’ to anti-Semitic stereotypes and conspiracy theories and responding to anti-Semitic acts and language at school, as well as developing learners’ understanding of news and media so as to resist manipulation.

The publication is the UN’s first treatment of the subject in such a comprehensive manner. UNESCO and the ODIHR, with the support of the Council of Europe, had already worked together in 2013 on guidelines to combat intolerance and discrimination against Muslims.

The publication’s launch event will begin with addresses by the Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, and the Director of OSCE/ODIHR, Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísldóttir. It will also feature testimonies of anti-Semitism today by the UNESCO Chair on Genocide Education at the USC Shoah Foundation. A roundtable discussion entitled “What educational policies to prevent antisemitism?” will follow with the participation of:

• Mina Abdelmalak, Arab Outreach Specialist, US Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington D.C.
• Johanna Barasz, Deputy Deputy Head of the French Government’s Inter-ministerial Delegation for the Fight Against Racism, Anti-Semitism and anti-LGBT Hate
• Alina Bricman, President of the European Union of Jewish Students
• Jeremiah Ellis, Founder of the World Mosaic Project and member of the Advisory Group of Canada’s National UNESCO Commission
• Igor Ujhazi, in charge of the fight against anti-Semitism, World Jewish Congress
UNESCO's action to combat anti-Semitism is part of the Organization's efforts to prevent violent extremism through education and to strengthen the capacities of education systems in this field.